The Absolute Degeneracy of the Tactical Gear Industry

We hit peak consumerism in the space. while lots of options is a good thing. Many influencers use their persona and reach to come up with the most lavish products and upcharge and indecent amount for them while using their rep to construct with you absolutely need it. Do not fall for it.

[plaguepandemic]

Add a tourniquet to your kit and you're already better prepared than 75% of the tacticool community

[AImpatientMan]

"The thing that baffles me about these people is they will spend thousands on a high quality gun, attachments, and extra magazines but I can't get them to spend 10 bucks to fix the smoke detector with dead batteries"

-Paul Harrel

[CalzaTheFox]

Much agreed. So many companies sell you a name, a concept, not just a product. That name carries a 200% tax with it.

[aidankilleen]

A hunter from ohio with a polymer hunting rifle with a fixed 4x scope chambered in .350 legend wearing a high vis jacket and a backpack full of camping gear with a first aid kit easily outclasses 80% of the taticool community simply via experience and I think that says a lot.

[walkingaway]

most of the people that buy this stuff are in such awful physical condition that they’re essentially walking loot boxes

[Nick-hmrh]

"selling you a Solution to a problem" turned into "selling you a solution" turned into "selling you something"

[gatling]

I think a huge part of the problem here is that we've tricked ourselves into thinking that any of this was actually necessary. Like, yeah, having a SHTF setup is cool and all, but for most of us, when you get down to the cost/benefit analysis, it just doesn't make sense to have $10, 000 worth of gear that we'll probably never use seriously. The central conceit of the civilian tactical market is that when bad things happen, we need to be prepared. And it works because, to some degree, it's absolutely true. Preparedness will be a necessity for survival in a worst case scenario. The question is, what does preparedness really look like?

Fancy optics are cool, but how often are you realistically going to shoot out to 500 meters? Or 50 meters, for that matter? What about food, or medical supplies, or communications? Why are we worried about flat range drills when most folks don't know how to find clean water, or how to apply a tourniquet? We've taken a logical "what if?" starting point and hyperfocused on the most Hollywood of outcomes.

Basic preparedness should probably include a level of firearms training and knowhow, and if you're going to buy kit that your life might depend on, you probably don't want to rely on the bargain bin. That much is true. But there's so much more to survival than just shooting, and that just isn't sexy. It's hard to generate clicks with spicy B-roll footage of finding edible (non hallucinogenic) mushrooms, or building a sense of community in an urban environment. It's downright counterproductive to teach maintenance and repair when you're selling shiny new stuff. That's the trap we've fallen into, and it's not one we're going to climb out of any time soon.

[Kochie]

The funniest part about this is that most of the tactical community preps guns and gear, but don’t prep basic necessities like food and water. They’ll be happy to spend $5000 on a pair of night vision but not $300 on a sack of unperishables

[GYIU]

I'm just...so grateful to see someone take the piss out of the hydra mount. Warms my cold dead heart

[Muji-Exempt]

The biggest joke is the tacticool guys with the best gear in the world not realizing they're being slowly killed by the food and drinks and environment

[SuperXrayDoc]

The problem with these overpriced items is these companies are trying to make back R&D costs in just the first month rather than over time

[YourMiddleBroPhil]

There's a saying in fishing, "most gear is made to catch the fisherman, not the fish" the same ABSOLUTELY goes to the tactical gear market as well. Alot if it has this "expansive+gimmick=better" mentality. But like it or not, tactical gear has stagnated because we're close to a peak. That's why gimmicks are playing out like this. Tactical gear/trex arms types are very easy to market to as well. All you need is an "ex-something" with tattoos and a beard to sell you the concept.

[The_SmorgMan]

I use gen 1 night vision. It’s called a flashlight. Or a light switch.

Maybe I’m not as geared up as a seal, but I’m not storming taliban compounds looking for laptops and prisoners at 2am. I’m in flip flops and undies at 2 am wondering why the dog is barking

[tinyfox]

I just buy expensive stuff as an unhealthy coping mechanism for my general state of unhappiness

[ALSPEHEIR]

And this is why I like Paul Harrel so much.
He just teach shit that may not be fancy, but it's doable, and with things people can afford.

[gojifan]

What 1 (one) tour in Iraq (doing Excel spreadsheets in da FOB) does to a mf

[Fredfredbug]

The amount of money people spend to shoot at stationary pieces of paper from 30 feet away is insane. They know it is too, hence justifying it by saying they’re doomsday prepping.

[GeorgeCowsert]

My personal breaking point was when I found an adaptor for those pistol red dots from the agreed Standard to Tijicon's proprietary system, and it was OVER A HUNDRED BUCKS!

It is a SLIP OF METAL WITH FOUR HOLES IT IT!

I could get the same results with some sheet metal, a philips head screwdriver, and a mallet.

[thelonehussar]

Just remember, no matter how much you buy you’ll probably just end up getting domed by some guy with a bubba’d Mosin

[delroku]

Vietnamese farmers watching a kid in full level v armor gen vi NGV and Rhodesian camo pattern on his M4 build full of "milspec" gear fall into the hole they just dug get impaled and try to escape from his rifle sling.